The most impressive thing about Ghosts in Baghdad, the ambitious new drama by Vancouver playwright Michelle Deines, is that it doesn’t feel like a new play from Vancouver. Ghosts is set in Baghdad before and after the 2003 US invasion and the fall of Saddam Hussein and there’s an understated style and tone to the that may not be Middle Eastern but it doesn’t feel local.

Deines’ play, which received its world premiere at the Little Mountain Gallery Friday night, was inspired by a 2006 newspaper story about employees of the Iraq Museum fighting to preserve their country’s history after statues had been being toppled all around them.

The two fictional workers guarding the cultural treasures on stage are Khalil (Alec Willows) and Malika (Sarah May Redmond). Although both have other dreams, the two have devoted themselves to restoring their country’s history as their present vanishes. Their isolated, esoteric world is invaded by a child (Gili Roskies) with a treasure to sell on behalf of a Fagin-like war profiteer, Hamza (Joshua Drebit). Khalil and Malika consider the artifact priceless. Hamza is only interested in the price he can get for it.

The drama turns into a thriller in act two — which might count as a spoiler except the program offers a warning that gunshots are fired in the production. Do theatres really have to warn people about that? It’s not like the show was manufactured in a factory that may contain peanuts. Anyway…

After she’d finished a draft of her script Deines (who produced the show with her companyy Working Space Theatre) worked with a couple who’d recently emigrated from Baghdad. The pair acted as cultural consultants and Deines told the Sun they urged her towards the understated and explained how no one would dare criticize Saddam Hussein in the privacy of their own home, nevermind their workplace.

Deines and director John Murphy took that message to heart. Even when those shots are inevitably fired Murphy keeps the mood subdued, the style subtle.

Alec Willows who is a master of larger than life performances plays it small and subtle, letting you see the pain of a poetry-quoting professor with no one left to teach. Sarah Jane Redmond’s Malika starts off so twitchy when she’s first interrupted by her former teacher that you’d think he’d beaten her. But her character gradually develops the confidence to go with her skills. Joshua Drebit is perfectly loath-able as the profiteer. And in the small space, from a few feet away, Roskies is riveting. There’s a famous National Geographic cover photo of a green-eyed refugee who became known as “the Afghan Girl” and there are moments in Act Two that Roskies seems to be channeling not just that image but the pain behind it that made it so haunting.

Designer Beth Snelgrove reconfigured the intimate theatre space at 26th and Main to accommodate a thrust stage with the audience on three sides. Corwin Ferguson collected a series of powerful images that remind the audience of the reality of Baghdad — but that effect is likely more powerful for the audience facing the screen directly.

The script could use some fine-tuning. The high stakes action in act two isn’t fully set up in act one which could use another jolt or two, the characters spend a bit too much time sharing information with each other that the audience either already knows or doesn’t need to and if a character nicknamed “the epic poet” is going to go on the occasional soliloquizing flight of fancy then those flights can be a lot fancier. But Deines has created a ghost story where all four characters are haunted by myths, memories and real life monsters including the demons of Saddam’s regime and the chaos created by their American liberators.

She’s also asking big questions in her small theatre and it’s exciting that she’s asking those big questions in a fleshed out full length play.

And as the Canadian government shuts down many of our country’s science libraries — which some researchers have compared to burning down the library of Alexandria - the story and themes hit uncomfortably close to home. Does history have a value? And what would you risk to protect it?

http://www.leiren-young.com

Blogging//leiren-young.com/?page_id=1155

Now tweeting//www.facebook.com/LeirenYoung?fref=ts

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.